Alive
by wingless faerie
Summary: preview: Maybe one day he would marry, shredding her heart to pieces; knowing that she would never be good enough for him--she could accept that. She had to accept that because his death is something she could never accept...


**A/N: **I would also like to own the Twilight series, but seeing as i do not, i resign myself to right such drabble, enjoy : )

**Alive**

_Fred. _Katie couldn't breathe—seeing him lying on the floor, that familiar smile on his face, his eyes dull, his body lifeless_. Oh no, not Fred. Merlin no, this couldn't be happening. There had to be a mistake. Yes, some death eater took a polyjuice potion making himself look like Fred. That had to be it. Fred couldn't just die, he was Fred after all. And George was alive…one couldn't live without the other. _But there he was standing next to his lifeless brother, sobbing._ Oh no, this couldn't be happening. _Katie ran. She couldn't breathe, couldn't stand the sight of Fred's death, the devastation was reaping in her heart.

_Oliver._ _Where was Oliver? He was still alive right? They couldn't all have died, right?_ Katie was frantic. If Fred had died, Oliver could have died just as easily. She wasn't thinking rationally, Oliver could still be alive. He was older than the twins, he had more experience. But at this point Katie wasn't thinking rationally. She just fell to the blood soaked ground and let the sobs wrack her body.

She had never told him her feelings. Why should she? She would never be good enough for him. But what if she _had_ been? What if she had told him how much she loved him? They might have spent a few blissful moments together. But now she would forever wonder what it would have been like if she would've told him.

This couldn't be happening. This was a bad dream right? She was suffering from a concussion and playing the worst case scenario in her head—something that would never happen because Fred couldn't die and neither would Oliver. She would wake up in St. Mungo's with lots of other people there suffering from similar ailments and everything would be alright. Fred would come and make her laugh as usual, bring her one of his products, and tease her like old times. And she and Oliver would go back to being friends, and she would never have to tell him she loved him; she would love him from afar as she had done for years now. Maybe one day he would marry, shredding her heart to pieces; knowing that she would never be good enough for him--she could accept that. She _had _to accept that because his death is something she could never accept.

"Katie?" a familiar Scottish brogue called behind her.

Katie looked up from her hands, completely soaked from her tears, to see the brilliant Oliver Wood standing not five feet from her. Her heart began to mend and beat once more, seeing him alive—a little bit tattered and battle-worn, but alive nonetheless. Before either of them knew it, Katie had bounded towards him holding on to him for dear life, raking her hands through his body, ensuring herself he was still alive. She would tell him she loved him, she had to—if just to ensure that she had not let the moment go. She sighed; she couldn't let him go now, not when she was in his arms after imagining him dead. For the first time in a long time she finally felt _alive_.

Oliver held Katie, the love of his life, in his arms. She was clinging on to him just as tightly as he clung to her. The relief of her living body in his arms overwhelmed him. Seeing all the dead bodies lying around, some familiar—too many familiar, had thrown him into a panic. He knew Katie would have joined in the battle and the thought of her lying dead and lifeless on the ground among the nameless faces had torn his soul apart. He couldn't bear the thought.

He had never told her—never told her how much he really loved her, not just as a friend. He wanted the best for her, but he couldn't deny himself this, right now, holding her in his arms. He would never be good enough for her, always having to put Quidditch as his first priority. She deserved someone that could keep her safe and comfortable in a house with a white picket fence and a ton of kids—someone who could give her all that and more. But right now he felt selfish and didn't want to let this precious creature go. It wasn't enough that she was alive now. He had come so close to losing her. He would quit Quidditch and become a teacher—whatever it took to have his love, his Katie, in his arms always and forever.

And that he did.

The war changed many things. The devastation it left in its wake touched everyone whether they fought or not; no one was left the same. But as much devastation as it left, the war brought people together; broken families were once again reunited and lovers found one another. In the simplest terms, it brought love into a world full of hatred. People stopped taking things for granted and searched for true happiness. Because life is something to be appreciated; it is short and fragile. In short, after this day people no longer existed—they finally learned to _live_. And that is a beautiful thing.


End file.
